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© DR - SPEED de Jan de Bont (1994) p4
05/01/2012 10:49
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358 reviews in total |
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A Great Action Film That Is Actually a Great Film
Author: tfrizzell from United States
25 July 2000
"Speed" was a runaway success in 1994. It was a block-buster in every sense of the word and critically speaking, it is an excellent motion picture. The film deals with an LAPD swat officer (Keanu Reeves) who is playing a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with crazed ex-cop Dennis Hopper. After Reeves stops Hopper from blowing up a high-rise building, the next obstacle is a city bus. Hopper has rigged the bus to explode if the "speed" ever drops below 50 miles per hour. Sandra Bullock, in her star-making role, plays an unlucky passenger who becomes the center of attention when she is forced to be the driver when the original navigator is accidently shot. The great thing about "Speed" is the fact that it never tries to be more than it is. It goes for non-stop action, thrills, chills, and spills. However, Dennis Hopper's character is somewhat complex and his performance probably should have garnered him an Oscar nomination. A great film in spite of the fact it is from the action genre. 5 stars out of 5.
Take Keanu Reeves as a cop willing to shoot hostages, Dennis Hopper as a crazed bomber, and the beautiful Sandra Bullock as a reckless, "substitute" bus driver, combine them, and what do you get? You get one of the smartest, most high-energy action films ever made. Be prepared to hold on for dear life after you watch this one. It will blow you away with plenty of violence, breathtaking explosions, and cliffhanger action sequences. A thrill ride! 4/4
If ever there was a film I wished I had seen at the theater,this would be the one.It's a great combination of a well written story, great direction,and a great cast.It's one of those films that you want to like so much,and it does not disappoint.The only thing that bothered me about the film is perhaps is the insertion of ill timed corny remarks ("He lost his head"),and the ending could have been done better,but overall a great action film worth owning.
Speed is one of my favorite action movies of all time, just a notch below contemporaries like Terminator 2 and Die Hard. The premise is so simple that it's almost a parody of movie pitches (Homer Simpson's line was "I saw this movie about a bus that had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode! I think it was called 'The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down'."). Fortunately this film came to be much better than the sum of its parts, and it's deservedly remembered as one of the most entertaining films of the 90s.
What distinguishes Speed is its humanity, due in no small part to the character of Annie (Sandra Bullock). The best example of this is the moment when Annie, while driving the bus, thinks she has struck a baby stroller. She becomes so distraught that she lets go of the steering wheel, never mind the fact that she is in charge of driving a bomb-laden bus through the L.A. suburbs. It's one of several moments that draw us into the film by helping us identify with the characters, and it's all the more elegant for its simplicity. This movie isn't complex, but it doesn't claim to be.
There is a certain irony that Speed succeeds so well on a human level, since Jan de Bont is not generally considered an "actor's director". He started as a cinematographer, and even when he talks about directing he discusses technical aspects and seldom mentions working with actors. Nowhere was this more evident than Speed 2, which pretty much killed his directorial career. Given that, it's all the more remarkable what he pulled off in the original Speed, as everything seemed to come together for him.
The overall performances really serve this picture well. Keanu is at his best (which is to say, mediocre), Sandra launched a career based on this movie, and Dennis Hopper did a wonderful job as the sardonic villain. Plus he has one of my favorite bad-guy lines of all time (Traven: "You're crazy." Payne: "Poor people are crazy, Jack. I'm eccentric.").8/10
 Author: Mister-6 from United States
30 April 2000
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Pop quiz, hot-shot - what's the most exciting action movie you've ever seen with a bus in it?Right, the answer is "Speed" and if you've seen it then you'll have to agree that there is more action in this one movie than any ten generic action flicks that have been released in the last ten years.
A trend-setter the likes of "Die Hard", "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Lethal Weapon", "Speed"'s premise is simple - a bus is wired by a madman (Dennis Hopper) to blow up if it drops below 50 MPH. This is to give the cop (Keanu Reeves) who ruined his last effort a run for his money in trying to save the day. In the ensuing efforts, a woman (Sandra Bullock) is recruited to drive the bus and keep it over 50 MPH at all times.
And for as deceivingly simple as it is, "Speed" pulls out all the stops by making every scene a nail-biter (the bomb discovery, Keanu getting aboard the bus, Sandra driving over an incomplete gap in a highway, etc. - the list is endless) and all the main characters (and a few of the supporting ones) are about as smart as your average movie-goer and have enough of these kinds of movies to figure out what the other guy's move will be and act on it. I LOOOOVE movies like that.
Keanu is far more heroic in this movie than he has been before (and since); Jeff Daniels is born to play best pal and does so with good-nature; Sandra is a delight to watch as well as hear - she has a voice you literally can wrap yourself up in; Hopper adds to his nutso roles with some droll lines that sound all the spicier delivered Hopper-style. Everyone is great and gives their all.
The movie is all one long action set-piece, which is what the action fan expects when they plunk down their money then sit down with their popcorn. They get their money's worth here and then some. "Speed" was obviously written by someone who loves action films as much as the action film fans that watch them. Good match-up.Nine stars for "Speed", and let's hear it for the magic of surveillance cameras.
Speed was a revelation to me . All of a sudden I was on the edge of my seat pulling for the hero. Up until that time I always knew the guy with muscles was going to win no matter what. But Keanu made me want him to win , he got me involved with the story. He did the same in Matrix. The hero is once again exciting.
'Speed' has to be the ultimate action film, involving you in an intense experience from the opening credits until the smash-bang climax. Not only do Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock do top work, but Dennis Hopper makes the most compelling villain of the '90s.
It all starts with a revenge-driven extortionist letting authorities know he has planted a bomb on a bus. The catch is it will explode if the bus is driven at less than fifty miles an hour. The script races along with non-stop action and surprise twists, without ever giving the audience time to stop for breath. It's a little too intense for its own good and could have used some lighter moments to give us a break!
Taut and suspenseful, with excellent effects and gripping suspense that keeps you riveted. Some of the stunts seem too incredible to be believable but in a film of this kind you have to go with the flow. The stunt work itself is breathtaking and makes it easy to see why the film is one of the most highly rated action films of the '90s.
Enough action sequences for three movies. Sandra Bullock has the cuteness controls set on HIGH, and Keanu Reeves plays it straight, a lot like his part in "Point Break". Dennis Hopper is, of course, one of the most believably creepy movie villains in the business today. (See him in "Blue Velvet") OK, there were some physical impossibilities in the film, but c'mon, most action films have them. (I've driven buses before, and they will not do many of the things in this movie.) This movie kept my eyes glued to the screen throughout. Grade: B+
One of the most explosive and epic action films is Speed! It stars Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton,Jeff Daniels, and Glenn Plummer! Reeves is really good. I like how his character is. Dennis Hopper is excellent! He's funny, he's mean, and he means business! Hopper was perfect in My opinion! Bullock was also very good. Plummer was also is funny and Morton and Daniels also perform good. The action is really great and you never know what to expect. The music by Mark Mancina is good and the direction by Jan de Bont is very good. I think that Speed is an excellent film which is always exciting! If you like the cast mentioned above and want to see Dennis Hopper in a great performance then I strongly recommend that you watch or even buy Speed today!
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Pop quiz...There's a space on your DVD or Video rack. What do you do? What do you do?Beat the rush hour, run the red lights, stay above 50mph and make your way to your nearest video supplier to buy or rent Speed This film is a definite MUST for those people who enjoy a good Action Thriller type film (and maybe even for those who don't).
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I have a lot of love for Speed and no matter how many times I see it; it STILL continues to deliver non-stop action and incredible stunts & special effects. Jan de Bont did a fantastic job directing this and I can't believe that the same guy who made this also made such a dire sequel like Cruise Control (but that's another story).
Keanu Reeves once more proves what a great actor he is and that he is well suited for these types of movies. Speed also helped launch Sandra Bullock's career. Dennis Hopper's portrayal of Howard Payne is fantastic and Speed is a worth addition to his already impressive CV of films. He makes a great villain.
The main three stars of Reeves, Bullock, & Hopper is strongly supported by Joe Morton (Terminator 2) and Jeff Daniels (Dumb and Dumber) and it's also nice to see supporting actors actually doing something.I am proud to say that Speed has a place on my DVD rack. A rack that won't be getting its space used up by Cruise Control (Special Edition or not!)
I have so many more positive things to say about this film and I think I said most of them in my User Comments for Cruise Control in which I compared that film with this. There's NO comparison. I think I all but destroyed Cruise Control with my comments leaving Speed as the clear winner. Speed most definitely stays above 50mph.
My vote: 10/10
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© DR - SPEED de Jan de Bont (1994) p5
05/01/2012 10:56
External reviews (Liste partielle)
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Showing all 111 external reviews
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© DR - SPEED de Jan de Bont (1994) p6
05/01/2012 11:01
Sites externes
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Official Sites
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© DR - SPEED de Jan de Bont (1994) p7
05/01/2012 11:27
Trivia (part1)
Showing all 71 items
Sandra Bullock actually learned to drive a bus for the film, passing her test on her first attempt.
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A Fox producer realized they might have a movie hit in their hands when he noticed that, during test screenings, audience members would walk backwards when they needed to go to the bathroom so they would miss as little as possible.
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Script doctor Joss Whedon rewrote the script uncredited. According to Graham Yost, the credited writer of Speed, Whedon wrote most of its dialogue. *
Jan de Bont insisted that Keanu Reeves get a sensible haircut as would befit a hard-working cop. 20th Century Fox were horrified when they saw the buzzcut that he adopted for the film, threatening to postpone the film to allow his hair to grow back.
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There was an instance where a schoolboy saved the lives of a schoolbus full of kids, when the driver had a heart attack, by climbing on to the driver's lap, jumping on the brake pedal and pulling the bus to the side of the road. When asked later why he did it, he told them that he had seen "that bus movie". At half time during an NFL game, there was a ceremony hailing the boy as a hero.
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For the bus jump sequence, a ramp was built. The bus was started from about 1 mile back and accelerated towards the ramp. When it hit the ramp it had reached a speed of 61 mph. The bus traveled 109 feet and its front wheels reached an altitude of 20 feet from the ground, which was higher than anyone had anticipated. Because of this, the cameras were not placed correctly and the top front part of the bus goes out of the frame when the bus reaches the maximum point of the jump.
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Keanu Reeves breaking the glass on the bus door in the beginning of the movie was an accident, however it was left in the final cut.
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The scene in which Annie ( Sandra Bullock) takes the chewing gum out of her mouth and pretends to put it on her seat in order to have an excuse to change seats and move away from the obnoxious Stephens was improvised by Bullock. *
The film literally ran out of money before it was completed. When the film was first previewed for an audience, the subway scenes were animated story boards. The audience loved them so much, the studio came up with the funds to shoot the scenes properly.
The subway train that comes crashing up onto Hollywood Blvd at the ending was actually a bus, decked out to look like a subway train.
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Renny Harlin and Quentin Tarantino were offered the chance to direct, but turned it down. Tarantino later named the film as one of his 20 favorite films since 1992.
The 105 freeway in California had recently been completed, but not opened at the time of production. The filmmakers were given all the time they needed to complete the freeway scenes without the hassle of closing down an operating major freeway.
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The bus jump scene was done twice, as the bus landed too smoothly the first time. The bridge was actually there, but erased digitally.
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Director Jan de Bont came up with the idea for the opening elevator sequence while working as a cinematographer on Piège de cristal (1988). While riding in an elevator in the building used as the skyscraper in that film, the elevator got stuck on the 40th floor, and de Bont had to climb out the escape hatch and jump onto another elevator to get out. *
The bus jump scene was not in the original script, director Jan de Bont came up with the idea one day when he was driving around Los Angeles and noticed one section of the I-105 freeway was missing.
Glenn Plummer's driver's license was taken away two days before his scene was scheduled to be filmed.
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The watch Jack was wearing, the Casio G-Shock DW-5600C, had been discontinued when filming commenced. Due to the film's success, the watch was in popular demand and the company started making them again.
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A special bus was used for the bus jump scene. This bus was modified so that it could reach a speed of 70 mph and it was equipped with powerful shock absorbers. The driver seat was moved back 15 feet so that if something went wrong the driver wasn't ejected from the bus. The seat itself was a suspension mechanism between the ceiling and the bus floor to avoid the driver from suffering spinal compression on impact.
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Voted one of AFI's Top 100 Heart-Pounding Movies of all time: number 99.
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The film was originally written with the intention that Jeff Bridges would play Jack and Ellen DeGeneres would play Annie. DeGeneres was initially chosen because the role of Annie was going to be a comedic role opposite the serious role of Jack. *
For the bus jump sequence, the city of Los Angeles gave permission to shoot on the I-105 freeway during the last month of its construction. This required the filming crew to be constantly on the move, depending on the location of the workers. It also created continuity problems because the appearance of the set kept changing as the construction crews would erect or tear down structures.
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Jack Nicholson and Robert De Niro were considered for the role of Howard Payne.
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Jack's registration plate is '646 TEZ'. 'Tez' means speed in Hindi.
The shot when the bus enters LAX and a plane is seen taking off right behind it, took more than 50 takes.
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When the police were looking at police mugshots, the first photograph was of David MacMillan, who is a sound mixer on the film. *
The script was pitched to Paramount Studios, which placed the movie on turnaround and suggested to writer Graham Yost that his script, which called for the movie to end after everyone gets off the bus, had "too much bus" in it, implying audiences would not go for a movie in which a bus is driving around for two hours. Yost then added the subway scenes, and the modified script was presented to Fox Studios, which agreed to film the movie. *
20th Century Fox were not convinced to begin with that Keanu Reeves had enough star clout to front the film and insisted on a big name actress to star alongside him. Jan de Bont refused. Fox relented to his casting of Sandra Bullock with Reeves only two weeks before shooting began. *
Glenn Close, Barbara Hershey, Jessica Lange, Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, Jane Seymour, Anjelica Huston, Kay Lenz, Kim Basinger, Halle Berry, Kathleen Turner, Debra Winger, Geena Davis, Carrie Fisher, Melanie Griffith, Michelle Pfeiffer, Emma Thompson, Rosanna Arquette, Meg Tilly, Daryl Hannah, Meg Ryan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Ally Sheedy, Demi Moore, Jodie Foster, Tatum O'Neal, Bridget Fonda, Marisa Tomei, Diane Lane, Sarah Jessica Parker, Brooke Shields, Julia Roberts, Winona Ryder, Cameron Diaz and Alyssa Milano all turned down the role of Annie.
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© DR - SPEED de Jan de Bont (1994) p8
05/01/2012 12:40
Trivia (fin)
There is a picture of an ocean wave on the side of the bus, more noticeably when the bus is circling the airport. That photograph was taken by Jan de Bont, for a campaign that was done for the American oceans, "Heal the Bay". *
In early drafts of the script, the bus was supposed to circle around the parking lot of Dodgers Stadium as opposed to LAX. However, the studio couldn't get the rights to film there.
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The birds flying through the gap in the freeway were digitally added special effects.
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The scene where the bus smashes into an empty jumbo jet plane being towed across the runway was was actually filmed at the Mojave Airport. According to the DVD Commentary, Jan De Bont says it was "out in the desert, on an old runway".
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There are 3 different ads on the bus and they are as follows (with their slogans): The Great LA Zoo - "Good Vibrations"; Heal the Bay - "Leave your children something to remember you by"; and Santa Monica Bank - "Money Isn't Everything. (Yeah, Right.)"
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The subway scenes were shot aboard the actual Los Angeles' Metro Red Line. They often used the same short stretch of track over & over, but most of the time, that subway tunnel you see is real. The only subway scenes that were faked in the studio were the scenes with Reeves and Hopper fighting on top of the train, and the last final seconds before the crash.
The bus-jumping scene was shot at the junction of the Harbor (110) Freeway and the Century (105) Freeways. The artificial gap in the freeway was created by early CGI.
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Before filming began on the freeway with the gap in it, all the lines and signage had to be put in and taken out on a regular basis before and during filming. Filming took places for around two and a half weeks.
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Filming at the airport took around three weeks. Was made slightly difficult when a plane's engine was being tested and it was extremely noisy.
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The picture on Harry's desk is that of director Jan de Bont's wife Trish. *
The bus number is 2525. 25+25=50. The bus has to stay above 50mph.
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The famous Shérif, fais-moi peur! (1979) sequence was the filmmakers' wry commentary on the uncompleted state of Interstate 105, which had become a running joke among LA motorists. It was finally (and quite coincidentally) completed in late 1993 shortly before the film's release, years behind schedule.
The police helicopter used by the Captain (or Lieutenant) in the movie, N599DB, spent several years thereafter in operation as C-FCPS, Calgary, Alberta, Canada's police helicopter "HAWC 1". It was retired and sold to a private citizen in late 2006.
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Paramount optioned the script first, in 1992, but did not proceed with it.
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All of the main characters who die in the movie have names starting with "H" (Harry Temple, Howard Payne, Helen).
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The black helicopter used by Mac was a NoTar helicopter. NoTar means the helicopter didn't have a tail rotor.
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Michael J. Coo is a key grip on this movie, and is the cop in the second photograph of police mugshots. The name on the file reads Michael Coo.
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Some of the shots of the subway train as it runs off the rails are of a miniature model.
When Howard Payne ( Dennis Hopper) says "Be prepared. That's the Boy Scouts' marching song", he is quoting the opening line to "Be Prepared", a song by Tom Lehrer. *
The plane cost $80,000.
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Filmed on location on LA's 105 freeway before it was opened to the public.
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The advert on the back of the bus reads "Money isn't everything. Yeah, right!"
Line producer Ian Bryce was driving the towing vehicle, which was towing the large airplane at the airport. *
Keanu Reeves and Dennis Hopper both played in River's Edge eight years earlier.
The ad that appears on the tail of the first bus that explodes says "Save the Clams" was an advertisement for The Bank of Santa Monica.
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The number plate of the bus '2525' was California 539724. (rien à CIRER!!!!!)
In the screenplay, Howard Payne's name was Howard Fisk.
At the end of the film, Dennis Hopper puts on a police uniform to pretend he's a cop. Joe Morton (Mac) previously appeared in Terminator 2, where the bad guy (Robert Patrick) also wears a police uniform throughout the film.
Spoilers
The trivia items below may give away important plot points.
Jack's sidekick, Harry, was originally to be played by Ed Harris and in this version was going to be revealed as the mad bomber. However, when Ed Harris opted out, and Jeff Daniels signed, the producers felt that the audience would not accept the sudden twist in character so Harry was kept as a good guy throughout and the mad bomber written as a separate character. *
A "deleted scene" sees Jack shooting Howard Payne in the neck, just after he'd shot his partner in the leg at the beginning of the film. Later in the film, you can see the oval scar on Payne's neck caused by the deleted shooting.
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According to script doctor Joss Whedon, the Alan Ruck character (Stephens) was originally written as an abrasive lawyer, who gets his comeuppance in an unexpected death scene. Whedon re-wrote him as the sympathetic, dull-witted tourist of the final version, but kept the death scene, intending to give it more emotional impact. His character changes were kept, but the death was written out. *
In an earlier script, the bus driver Sam ( Hawthorne James) had to be removed from the bus because he had suffered a heart attack and not because he had been shot.
There was originally a scene called "Officer Baker's failed rescue" in which a bomb squad officer called Baker was going to be lowered onto the bus from a helicopter only to have to pull up when a bridge gets in the way, where he meets an unfortunate end. This scene storyboard can be found on the special edition DVD complete with optional commentary by Director Jan de Bont. *
The Los Angeles airport would not allow any explosions to take place to avoid frightening travelers. The explosion scene that takes place when the bus collides with the airplane was filmed in Mojave, California.
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At least 12 different buses were used during the shooting of the movie: - 2 buses for exterior shots - 2 buses that were blown up - 2 buses for interior shots - 2 buses for action sequences and "hitting things" - 1 bus for the jump sequence - 1 bus modified so that it could ride on 2 wheels during the sharp right turn sequence - 1 bus slightly raised so that a man in a mechanic car could fit underneath. It was for the sequence in which Jack Traven tries to deactivate the bomb. - 1 bus with an extended platform in front so that a filming crew could shoot the driver from the front. The filming crew referred to this bus as the "pope-mobile".
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The name tag on Howard Payne's policeman's uniform reads 'Fisk,' which, in early versions of the script, was the character's name, Rudy Fisk.
In the original screenplay, Howard Payne's name was Howard Fisk.
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